


A Typo in the Stars

by LassLuna



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Adultery, Don't Like Don't Read, F/M, Romance, Screw Destiny, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, The Husband - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:37:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LassLuna/pseuds/LassLuna
Summary: She didn’t mean for this to happen, but she never counted on him. She never counted on the way he just understood her. He understood her in a way no one ever had. She'd searched her entire life for a connection like this. It was a connection that Emma Swan wasn’t prepared to lose. The only problem, she was married. Emma Swan was married to her Soulmate who wasn’t Killian Jones.He didn't mean for this to happen, but he never counted on her. He never counted on the way that she just seemed to fit in all the broken places. He'd been content to live life alone, it was how he always was. But she changed everything. It was a connection Killian Jones wasn't prepared to lose. The problem, she was married to her soulmate who wasn't him.A twist on the classic Soulmark AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost from Fanfic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was all written at 3am a few years back. I thought about editing it, but I thought it better to leave it. I loved it when I wrote it so why change it now? It was the first thing I posted to ao3 and I still love it, flaws and all.  
> However, if I did rewrite it, I wouldn't change a thing about the plot. I love the plot. So if you do not like the plot which includes a good deal of adultery, so if that makes you uncomfortable, don't read. Also, if you don't like the plot, don't comment.

He always fell asleep first. It was something Emma had come to know about him, his head would turn to the side, mouth only slightly open as his hair fell into his face; his arm would wrap around her tightly as if trying to hold onto her even in sleep and would just doze off into much needed sleep.

(His ass of a boss was always giving him the longest shifts at the harbor, the longest and most dangerous jobs according to the blue eyes man besides her. Emma could barely contain her worry sometimes.)

She knew this because she spent an unbelievably long time just like this, curled up in his bed after she caught some lowlife to help pay the bills, watching this happen, watching his eyes drift shut with a ghost of a smile on his face, tracing over the mark on her back gently with half lidded blue eyes.

"Doesn't matter." He'd say softly, no matter how many times she'd assured him otherwise, no matter how much she told him that this was just a one time thing.

(Even she knew it was a lie, a one time thing did not involve months and months of movie nights in his bed and stargazing on his roof)

"Stay." He'd ask every single time. But she couldn't and he knew that. She had to get up and go home, go and tell  _him_ that she had just caught the perp, that was where she was, not in bed with another man, no not at all.

He'd fall asleep soon after his plea fell from his lips, and she'd be alone with her thoughts, touch the mark on his left palm, she knew it by heart by now, the mark that cataloged his destiny as certainly as her own held hers.

They were Soul marks that matched with your true love, with the person you belonged with, True Love and all that nonsense. The only problem was that their marks didn't match, they would never match. No matter how much they wished it otherwise, they were not meant to be.

" _I love you! Doesn't that mean a damn thing to you?" He'd yelled in another of their fights, but really just the same fight over and over again._

_"It means we're both screwed." She snapped back, just as angry, just as livid. "It means that the one thing that is supposed to be easy, natural even I can't do right!" She screamed, throwing her wedding band at his head. The ring she'd once put on with such joy and hope, now felt constricting on her hand, like a seal of imprisonment._

_"I can't even love my Soulmate right!" She'd declared. "I'm married to him and here I am sleeping with you! What kind of person does that make me?" She asked._

_He'd closed the distance between them, anger still burning bright._

_"An honest one. You love me. Say it." He'd snapped. She didn't blame him,he didn't have a soulmate, or at least, he didn't know who it was._

_And she wanted to say it, with every fiber of her being; Emma Swan wanted to shout it to the heavens that she loved this man, this arrogant, stubborn devilishly handsome man._

_But she just couldn't. She kissed him instead. She wanted to tell him everything she felt without words. Words made things real, kissing him into oblivion she could handle, real she couldn't._

She got up, got her discarded clothes and tried to put herself back together. Emma would shower the second she got home. Her home without Killian, the home she shared with her actual Soulmate, the home that hadn't felt like a home since she met Killian, the home that she desperately tried to keep, but the more she held on, the more it hurt to do so.

But her home was safety, it was certainty. Her husband was the one born to love her, to be her other half. Emma needed safety; she needed the guarantee that she would never be alone and unloved again. She'd been burned by loving someone who wasn't her soulmate before and she just couldn't do it again.

The last time she'd been left with 11 months of jail time, a pregnancy and trust issues so deep Emma didn't ever think she'd recover from it. But she had, she built a life for herself and her son. The two of them against the world…until she met him. He gave her love and a father for her son. For once in her life, Emma Swan thought everything had turned out alright.

_"We're star-crossed Swan." He'd tease as she sat on his couch with a movie on, his head in her lap, looking up at her with such a carefree expression._

_"Get off me you lug." She'd teased, but he'd just smirked._

_"Anyone ever tell you that you have a comfy lap?" He'd say right back with a smirk._

_"Watch the movie." She'd complain._

_"You're a better sight." He'd breath, her skin heating up._

_"We can't." She said sharply. "I'm married." She reminded him._

_"I don't care."_

_"I do."_

_It turned out that all it took to change her mind was a look, a look of complete understanding. "Swan, you are something of an open book to me, and what I see is a woman desperate not to get hurt but is hurting anyway." He replied. "You don't love him, not like you love me. Complacency isn't the same as being happy." He informed her._

_"He's my soulmate." She'd supplied weakly. "He's my destiny."_

_His gaze didn't waver; it made it harder to breath._

_"Everyone makes mistakes." He reminded her with a wink. "Make a mistake with me Emma."_

_She couldn't._

_"I love you."_

_And I love you, she wanted to say._

But this has gone on way too long. Her husband and son didn't deserve this, they didn't deserve for her to ruin everything they'd built over something like this, over a fling, because what else could this be? It could never go anywhere, could do nothing but cause everyone pain and suffering.

Her husband, he was a good man, he loved her son like his own. Even if it wasn't…the same as what she had with Killian, it mattered to her. What would happen if after she blew apart her marriage and her life, she showed up. Killian would leave her. She could never compete with destiny. Emma would be left with nothing, as nothing.

She had to leave, and not just for a night, and not just back to their apartment 10 minutes away from here. Emma needed distance if she was going to get over this, him. Her husband had mentioned having a child the other day and Emma was considering it.

"I'm sorry." She said sadly, her hand moving to his cheek, cupping it gently in his hand, kissing his forehead softly. It was a goodbye.

"I hope you find her someday, she's a lucky woman…She's just not me."


	2. Chapter 2

_Soulmarks: (noun) Indicating a pair of souls destined to be together, guaranteed true love._

_She should have just accepted that._

Everything started with a drunken disorderly. It was one of the minor things her firm dealt with, most of the times; they would show up for their court dates. They usually weren't too much trouble, more embarrassed than malicious.

Unfortunately, she got the one perp who had no interest in showing up. Will Scarlet was now in the cross hairs of Emma Swan, bail bonds person.

(Her husband thought it was funny how insistent she was at the title)

She tracked him to a bar, one he frequented quite a lot. She stepped inside, taking a seat on one of the stools, keeping her eyes peeled for her perp.

A man she didn't recognize sat down beside her with a smirk. "First time here?" He asked.

She shrugged him off, she was working, not flirting.

"Some would take your challenge as off putting, but I love a challenge." He replied. "Let me buy a beautiful lass a drin-" She didn't let him finish as she maneuvered through the bar scene. Scarlet had just shown up.

Perfect. It didn't take much, the pop of a button on her blouse and a few insinuating words and he followed her blindly into the alley, thinking he was going to get some action rather than a pair of handcuffs.

Will complained loudly as she tugged him back to her car. It was as easy as she suspected.

"Let me go." He complained. She ignored him. His reward was going to get her son some new school shoes for the new school year. Emma wondered if he'd want another pair of converse or those sneakers with the lights…She was so distracted by these thoughts that she didn't notice the perp picking the cuffs and knock her back onto the ground.

Will turned to bolt away, meaning that catching him was going to turn ten times harder, when a force appeared in his way and punched him square in the jaw. Will was out for the count. The figure strolled up to her, offering her his hand. She noticed something on his skin, but before she could really understand what she was seeing, her eyes were captured by his own blue ones.

Emma looked up warily before she took it, helping her up from the ground.

_"Beautiful and dangerous, now I really wish to buy you a drink." It was the guy at the bar. He'd come to help her. She looked at the unconscious Will Scarlet._

_"You're not curious about why I grabbed that guy?" She asked._

_"Well, he's a real lowlife, I assume you're in the law enforcement occupation, it would explain why you said no to my offer earlier." She raised a brow._

_"Because it had nothing to do with you." She says right back, but lighter than before, perhaps with a little teasing._

_"Of course not." He replies, taking a step towards her._

_"Let me take this guy to the station and perhaps I'll come back and take you up on your offer."_

She says back, taking another glance at his hand, at the mark, something that looked vaguely like an old pirate ship. She'd been right the first time. It was a soul mark, something entirely different from her own mark, a crescent on the small of her back.

It made this flirting safe and like a breath of fresh air.

He was there when she got back, just as he'd promised.

She wasn't worried yet about how things had escalated. Her husband hated bar crawls, much preferring dinner at fancy restaurants, loving to treat her to the finer things in life that she'd been deprived of until this point. All Emma expected was to find someone to exchange a bit of banter with, someone who would hang out with while waiting for a skip to appear.

But one meeting turned into two, and then it was a weekly thing, and then it was a daily thing. She just enjoyed his company, is jokes and flirting, and he looked at her differently than her husband. Not better or worse, it was just different.

She never meant to tell him about Neal, her first love who had not been her soulmate, but she hadn't cared. She just never thought he'd leave her like he had, with a teenaged pregnancy and 11 months of jail time.

_"You deserve so much more than that." He'd said. "You'll find him someday." He promised._

_"Neal?"_

_"Your soulmate."_

Emma should have told him then, before they fell too far, before things got too serious. But she didn't. She didn't because it was already too late.

She never meant to hear some of his deeper confessions as the night grew longer and the bar started to empty out. He told her about Liam, his brother. Liam never had a soul mark, but saw Killian's own as a thread of hope for the both of them. Killian told her how Liam took care of him until his passing during a brutal accident.

"Liam just wanted me to be happy. To find my soulmate and to make him proud." He'd admitted, eyes shining with unshed tears, she pulled him close.

_"You're going to be happy Killian." She promised. "You've already made him proud."_

They talked about lighter things too, about their favorite movies, that being a particular favorite topic of conversation.

It was how Emma eventually accompanied him to his apartment.

It was when he first kissed her.

It was where she told him that she was married; she was married to her soulmate.

He was furious. She tried to leave, she'd been so stupid. She should have never let things get this far. He had no intention of falling in love with a married woman.

She ran.

He came after her. He pulled her into his arms.

_"I've never put much faith into soulmarks." He admitted. "I'm sorry I was mad, I wasn't, just surprised is all."_

_"Stay for the movie?" He asked in a fragile voice._

Emma Swan stayed for a whole lot more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't like,don't read and don't comment.

When Emma first confessed her marital status to Killian, he didn't know what to feel.

Anger? Possibly.

Heart broken? For sure.

He thought he'd finally found someone, a bit of happiness in this world. He'd learned long ago the dangers in putting all your happiness in one place, but Emma…she was just special.

She was fierce, she was caring and nurturing and just bloody amazing.

" _I'm married."_

The words tore through him like a sword through his chest. She was married. After all the conversations, all the heartbreaking admissions, all the moments they'd shared, she'd knowingly allowed him to get close to her when she was unavailable.

At first he thought about fighting for her.

But her husband was her soulmate, how could he fight that? How could he compete with that? Guaranteed undying love. From what Killian had learned about Swan, she craved something steady, a home she could not lose, someone who would never give her up.

" _Orphan. I don't even know my parents' names." She'd admitted after far too much rum. "I don't even know if I'm celebrating the right birthday! Like…I think I'm a libra…I've always been a libra…but what if I'm actually a Virgo? Or a Leo? What the hell is wrong with them?"_

A large part of him  _begged_ her to let it go, to realize that the universe had been bloody  _wrong._ They were meant to be and he swore to spend every minute convincing her of that. He'd learned that lesson the hard way years ago.

But soulmates were hard to let go, to realize that life wasn't as easy as pairing off for guaranteed love was a hard pill to swallow. Soulmarks were hardly ever wrong, but they were far from easy.

No one had ever done this. No one had ever fallen for someone who wasn't soulmarked after  _already_ falling for their other half. No one had ever admitted it at least, no one he could find.

Killian should have let her go for both their own good. This  _thing_ between them could only end one way. Hell, he might as well call it what it was. It was an  _affair._ He's been having an affair with Emma Swan for the last 6 months and as much as he knows that it could only end in heartbreak…he couldn't say no.

He couldn't keep from seeing her, touching her, holding her,  _loving her._

But now she was gone. Again. She'd tried to end it again, failing to meet up with him for the last two weeks. Swan did that on occasion. She'd try to resist this…tug, but it would only last so long. She'd always come back.

Killian had long since abandoned hope in his own soulmark, he legitimately thought that the fact that their marks didn't match had to be a mistake. She obviously felt something with him that she didn't have with  _him._ But he was good to her, good to her son. He loved her and Killian felt like a bloody arse for ruining that.

Which was why he was  _here._ He was  _waiting_ at  _her_ favorite bench in the park, just close enough to the jungle gym to see the children playing. He was waiting for her. He needed to see her, just to talk.

And sure enough she came, her boy holding her hand. He saw her start at the sigh of him. He gave a sorry smile. Killian didn't want to do this. He didn't want to blind side her like this, but Killian had no other choice.

She saw her say something to her boy, saw him run off to the playground with familiar boundless energy. Liam always did say  _he_ had endless energy at that age hadn't he?

"Hello Killian." She said gently, pushing her dark hair back nervously as she sat beside him. There was a space in between, a careful purposeful space. He made no move to violate it.

"Hello Milah."

* * *

Emma didn't know what to do. He knew. Her husband knew something was wrong with her. She didn't think she'd made any obvious changes to her behavior, but he'd noticed.

" _Perps are getting sloppy."_ He laughed _. "First time you're home early every day this week in the last 6 months."_

It could be nothing. It could be just a meaningful thing one said to another they cared for. It could just be something a normal husband said to their normal wife.

_But we're not normal are we?_ She reminded herself. Normal wives don't cheat. They don't fall in love with dark hair and blue eyed men they meet at a bar.

This was behavior of crazy people, or of people who meet their true love after being happily married. This was impossible behavior. This was behavior of sleeze balls who just wanted a quickie in the bathroom. No one fell in love outside of their soulmates, it just wasn't done.

She'd read a lot of interesting cases since meeting Killian.

There was one case of someone's soulmate being his friend's young daughter, (totally creepy)

Another of someone having two soulmates.

There were lots of cases of having no soul marks, others of people ending their marriage because they found  _the one,_ or people without soul marks falling in love with someone who never found their other half.

But Emma and Killian…they were in a class of their own.

And Emma didn't know what to do. She couldn't do this forever, half in her marriage, half fooling around. If he didn't know now, he would eventually. The secret would kill her if she kept it any longer. Her only sounding board was the very man she had been avoiding for the last 2 weeks.

_Maybe forever._

But this was it, she wasn't going back, she couldn't. She couldn't risk everything coming apart again, not with how hard it had been to get to this place. She had friends, Mary Margret and David Nolan, another soulmate couple she spoke to a lot, their sons were in the same class. Leo was one of Henry's best friends.

And now, every time they spoke, about how wonderful their husbands were, Emma felt dirty, she felt like a liar, a manipulator. True Love was supposed to be easy, simple. There was supposed to be so in love that she couldn't look at anyone the way she looked at her husband.

Her kind, sweet, handsome husband, he was the total package if she was being honest. He deserved to be happy, and his happiness was her. She was sorry he got saddled with her, he deserved someone not this messed up.

They'd been married three years this January and now he wanted another kid, his kid. As much as he loved Henry, and he did. He really did. He wanted his kid with  _her_. It was a reasonable desire, one she would have been glad to accommodate had things been different.

She needed to know if there was a chance that Killian's joke about destiny making a mistake could be right. She needed to know if she was being silly, if she had a right to try to be happy at the risk of this beautiful life.

She needed someone to know, to tell her what to do.

That's what led her here, to the outside of Mary Margret Nolan's cottage instead of chasing down another dirt bag. She needed to tell someone and she could think of no one better than her best friend.

"Oh Emma, were we supposed to meet?" The brunette asked, her hand on her slightly enlarged stomach. She was on her second pregnancy, something that Emma attributed to her husband's desire. Emma smiled nervously, shifting on her feet. It had seemed so much easier in her head.

"No, I…"She stammered. "I need to talk to someone or I'm going to burst." She admitted, her voice quivering ever so slightly.

The woman didn't question her, opening her door and inviting Emma inside.

* * *

"Oh Killian." Milah said sadly, hand moving to his shoulder, but she pulled away before she touched him, as he expected. He didn't want to go to her, but no one understood him like she did.

Apart from Swan, but that was part of the bloody problem. He couldn't bloody fall for someone available could he? First Milah and now Emma? What the hell was wrong with him. He dropped his face into his hands.

"Nothing is wrong with you." Milah assured him sadly. "You're so remarkable. I wish you saw yourself like I see you, or how Emma sees you. But I can understand how this happened." She replied.

He looks at her. And knows she understands. It happened to her, to them.

"I don't know if I can keep doing this, but I don't think I can l let her go." He admits.

"I get that, believe me, I do. Having love versus your family, it's an impossible choice to make." She replies. "But Killian, you have to fight, it's who you are." She insists. "A man who doesn't fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets." She reminds him. "Fighting is who you are."

He nods slowly.

"I…I intend to." He breathes finally. "I love her Milah, and I just want my fair shot at winning her heart." She smiles. After all these years Killian can't help but recall how many of those smiles he caused. "But what if its not enough? How can I fight  _destiny?"_

She puts her hand on his this time, the contact warm in the cool air. It makes him look at her.

"I can't promise that you'll win." She says. "But love, true love is love worth ruining your entire life for. Anything less isn't worth it."

He nodded, planning on taking that advise to heart, to truly think about it.

"How are you?" He asks casually. It feels selfish to do otherwise; she's helped him now in his crisis.

"We're good. Bae is 6." She replies, looking back at the dark haired boy. "He's trying to convince his father to sign him up for sailing lessons." Killian couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Gold and I are doing well, not fighting as often anymore." She assured him.

He smiled, not because he thought that was good enough for his- for Milah. But because she seemed genuinely pleased at that, and all Killian ever wanted was for Milah to be happy. It was their mutual understanding.

"We should get going." Milah said sadly, he nodded in agreement. The last thing they needed was for him to ruin the tediousness that was Milah's marriage. He understood why she stayed, why they couldn't run away together, but he understood.

"Good luck Killian. I hope you find your happy ending."

"You too."

* * *

Mary Margret was quiet as Emma explained what had been going on with her. She was quiet until Emma asked her what she should do, stay with her soulmate, or try to be with someone she loved, like truly loved.

Then the woman sighed. "Emma…" Emma swallowed thickly. "Before you met Killian? did you love him? Like truly love him."

She nodded, she did; she really did. She knew that, asked herself that constantly. But the thing was, that she had met Killian, she had fallen for Killian, no amounts of 'what ifs' would change that.

"Then hang onto that." She advised. "He's your soulmate. Whatever you have with this Killian person, it can't come close to what you have with your husband, soulmates are sacred, they're never wrong."

Emma nodded in agreement; she felt tears building in her eyes. How could she be so stupid?

"Thank you Mary Margret." Emma said, wanting to get out of here before her tears fell. "I needed this." The woman nodded.

"Good luck Emma. I hope you figure out how to fix things."

"Me too."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey mate, wanna get a beer after work tomorrow?" The question surprised Killian, drawing his attention to the sailor besides him. He rarely ever spoke to his coworkers, everyone too focused for small talk.

"I- I can't." He replied.

The man snickered. "Got a wife waiting up for you?" The man grinned. Killian shrugged.

"I have plans." He said tensely. That was one of the days he was to meet Emma, the first since his talk with Milah. He wasn't entirely sure if he should even show up. Emma sure hadn't, but if he did and she showed up, he knew the message it would send. He knew that it would just confirm Emma's worst fears and he would never see her again.

If she ever showed up.

She was never going to leave her husband, what was the point? Perhaps he should finally take a hint.

The man raised a brow. "Have fun, I'll be at the Scarlett Letter if you want to catch that drink." He explained. "I thought it was about time for us to get to know each other better if we are going to keep having the graveyard shift."

Ah yes, he'd forgotten that Gold had him set on this shift until summer. Blood Gold, that man ran the Marina like a slave driver. He'd quit if he had a better offer. Emma had told him to quit, having a bad feeling about a man who seemed to always single him out for the worst time slots, and Emma didn't even know about his history with the man's wife.

But then again,  _Gold_ didn't know about Killian's history with the man's wife either.

The bastard always seemed to naturally dislike him, and seemed to naturally know just how to make Killian's life miserab-

"Evening boss!" the man besides him greeted, making Killian straighten and plaster on a professional face. Killian didn't want to make his desire to stab the man  _too_ apparent.

Rumpfort Gold, ran bloody everything in town, including the Marina. Why he was here in his tailored suit in the middle of the bloody night, Killian couldn't begin to guess.

"Jones." The man said as a predator said to prey, attempting to lull him into a false sense of security.

"Gold." He replied evenly.

"Milah is taking my yacht out tomorrow around sunrise, I'd like you to check through the engine, ensure it's safe for my wife to take." He ordered. Killian resisted the urge to grind his teeth.

"Why not have the engineer look at it?" He asked.  _It's his bloody job!_

"Because I'm asking you." Gold replied, "Are we going to have a problem?" He asked, daring Killian to try something, anything to oppose him. The man was dying to fire him. Killian refused to give him the ammunition.

"Not at all. I'll make sure your lovely wife has a perfect ride on the bay." He said with his best 'I hate you and you know it' faces.

Gold returned it just the same.

Emma waited until he got home. She was silently thankful that Henry had a sleepover tonight. It would make things far less complicated. She'd finally reached a decision and was waiting for her husband to get home.

"Hello my beautiful wife." He greeted with a brilliant smile. She returned it.

"Hello my awesome husband." She said slightly nervous. "I'm sorry I've been distant lately." She said sheepishly. She knew he could tell, but was thankful he didn't push her about it. He was great at not pushing her for anything.

_"Bloody hell Emma! Don't shut me out!" Killian demanded._

_"I'll shut you out if I damn want to." She snapped back. "You don't know what I'm going through!" He closed the distance between them, alone in his flat._

_"Then tell me." He challenged. "I'm in this for as long as you let me. I'm not going anywhere."_

_She'd yelled wordlessly as Killian pushed past his walls._

_The night ended in his bed, his clothes ripped in more than one place in their haste._

He just shrugged.

"I know you Emma, I figured you wanted to deal with it yourself." He responded. "Is there anything you want to share with me?" He asked. Emma nodded.

"I've been thinking a lot about us and Henry and my past and your request…" She listed, standing up and moving closer to him.

"Did you make up your mind?" He asked hopefully. "Do you want to have a baby?"

Killian was tired that next morning, tossing and turning all night long. He had a decision to make and he was still on the fence.

And now he had the bloody early shift to ready Gold's bloody ship. The only bright side was getting to see Milah, having an excuse to talk to his old friend without them being weary of being seen.

"Excuse me." Said a voice. He turned as an unfamiliar figure approached him, the man looked worse for wear. "Are you Killian?"

He narrowed his eyes at him. "Yes, what-"

The man socked him in the jaw, sending him backwards with the force of it. "Bloody hell!" He cursed. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded. But the man didn't answer, moving in to deliver another punch, this one landing closer to his eye, but Killian was able to return the assault and landed a hit on the other man. It was enough to make him stop. "Who the hell are you?" He cursed.

"Who do you think I am?" The man snapped. "Or is Emma not the only married woman you're fooling around with?" Killian felt his blood turn to ice.

"Listen mate, I don't know what you think you know, but I assure you, it's not what you think." He said hastily. His mind was spinning with worries for Swan, had he found out? He couldn't imagine how, they were so careful.

"She told me." He snapped. "So you cut the crap. I want you to stay away from Emma." He warned.

"No." He responded before he could think. "I love her. I won't stay away because her brute of a husband decided to have a temper tantrum." He snapped. Killian swore the man was about to punch him again, but the man just laughed.

"You love her." He repeated. "I did not expect that."

It irritated Killian. "Then what did you expect?" He responded "I wouldn't risk my dashing looks for a woman I see as a conquest."

The man crossed his arms. "Let me let you in on a little secret  _mate,_ Emma responds to stress in two ways, fight or flight. She's usually in the flight category. Every so often she does something to ruin this; she's scared because we're soulmates. It's usually going on a hunt far away from town, gets her head back on straight, but she  _always_ comes back. She loves me. It's destiny." He explained.

Killian really wanted to punch him, he knew this about her, but what he didn't know was that it wasn't her being afraid of commitment, quite the contrary; it was Emma testing his commitment.

"This is just another way she's running. I don't care that she cheated, but Emma's my wife. If you say you care about her, then leave her be. It's the best for everyone."

Killian watched him leave. He made his decision.

"Oi, Jones, Gold is waiting!" Someone called from far off. Killian nodded, wiping the blood from his lip, making a mental note to get some ice for his eye after he dealt with Gold.

Emma waited at her their bar, waited for hours. Killian was late or he decided to cut his losses.

_Right after she told her husband everything._

This was just what Emma had been afraid of hadn't it? Risking everything for nothing? Emma should have known better.

While talking to Mary Margret, hearing how she thought Emma should stick to her True Love, all Emma thought was how angry she was, how disappointed she was in the advice. She hadn't been relieved, she'd been destroyed. She wanted Killian. Emma wanted Mary Margret to confirm what she already knew was going to be her choice.

Except Mary Margret was a stickler for soulmates.

Screw destiny, she wanted her piercing eyed smoldering man who loves her. She wanted screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain, she wanted fights at 2 am and cursing his name, she wanted the passion and the love and damn it she wanted everything he could give her.

She was done with being comfortable, she wanted him.

She was finally ready.

"Last call." The bartender said, Emma's eyes burned with tears.

Killian wasn't coming.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma was red faced when she got home, she cried the entire drive, wondering why he hadn't shown, he'd never once missed their meetings, even when he had a bad cold or was exhausted. He'd show up and Emma would take him back to his apartment, settle them on the couch, put on a movie and hold him as she slept. Emma just couldn't understand what had changed.

That is, until she opened the door to find her husband sipping on a beer with a bag of pees on his eye and his knuckles swollen. Three guesses to figure out who was on the other end of his fist.

"What did you do?" She practically snarled.

"What do you think I did?" He snapped back. "I'm getting my wife, my soulmate back!"

She was livid. He'd scared him off. "I'm not coming back." She replied. "I can't live like this anymore." She insisted "I know what I want."

He looked at her in confusion. "And what do you want? Are you going t tell me you were never happy here? That we were never in love?" He demanded.

"I was happy." She said softly. "But this is different." She confirmed. "I owe it to myself to try, or I'll be miserable. I've been miserable since I tried to break it off."

He glared at her angrily. "It's insane. You'll never last, you're causing all this heartache for us, for Henry, for what? Better sex?"

Emma nearly blew her top.

"This has nothing about sex." She snapped. "This is about me, my heart, my feelings, about what I want, I've had my entire life decided for me! From who would raise me, to who I would love! I'm taking my fate in my hands for once in my life!"

"Mom?" Said a voice. Emma turned around, frowning apologetically when Henry came into the room. She must have woken him. She'd been so busy yelling that she forgot about Henry sleeping. She was such a terrible mother.

"Henry, I'm sorry, I-" she trailed off. "Go back to sleep, we'll quiet down." She promised.

"You didn't wake me, the doorbell did." He responded. Emma blinked.

The doorbell? She hadn't even heard it.

She went to the door, opening it hesitantly. Her first thought that it was Killian, but she was quickly proved wrong. There was a woman at her door. She had long dark hair and green eyes. She looked a bit older than Emma. "Can I help you?" She asked.

The woman looked her over hesitantly; Emma had this odd feeling of being inspected by her. It annoyed her. "Emma Swan?" She asked. Emma nodded. "I'm…"She peered in, possibly spotting Henry. "We have a mutual friend in common." She said quickly. "May we talk in private?" She asked.

Emma got an odd feeling from her, letting her inside.

"Who's this?" Her husband asked. Emma pulled a professional mask on, unable to deal with him and this woman and Henry at the same time.

The woman barely spared him a glance, eyes locked on Henry. Her kid smiled, offering his hand.

"Hi, I'm Henry." He introduced.

"Sorry, I need to put him to bed first." Emma said simply; hand on her kid's shoulder.

"I'll wait." She replied.

Once Henry was settled, Emma returned, finding her husband gone and the woman sitting at her living room table.

"He said he wanted to let you have your space." She supplied sadly.

Emma just sighed. "Sorry, you caught me on a bad night." She replied. "Who's this mutual friend of ours?" she asked.

The woman hesitated before responding. "Killian Jones." Emma's pretty sure her mouth dropped.

"How…Do…" She stammered.

"I was supposed to meet you at that bar he likes, but my son was sick and by the time I could get a sitter it had closed. The bartender gave me your address." She explained. "I know about you and Killian, I know he loves you deeply. He told me, he came to me deeply conflicted about seeing you. He has a delicate heart as you know." She did. Emma did know.

Emma felt her jaw clench. "How do you know Killian?" She asked. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled softly. "My name is Milah, Killian and I have been friends for a long time. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to tell you- well, Miss Swan, have you seen the local news today?"

The news.

"I've been busy." Emma replied narrowing her gaze, there was a way the woman was speaking, as if she was dancing around a topic.

"Something happened today…" She said sadly. "One of the ships had a malfunction, Killian was caught in the blast."

Her heart dropped. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"He's ok isn't he?" She asked, rising from her chair. "Where is he? The hospital?" She demanded, her mind racing through the nearest hospitals and the route to get there the fastest. "Why didn't you start with this? Why are we still here when-"

Emma sucked in a breath. "He's not dead is he? Please tell me he's ok." She begged. God, of course this happened, the man couldn't miss a date with a normal excuse he just had to get himself blown up. If he wasn't ok-

"He's alive." Milah confirmed, but the way she said it made it feel like he was only just.

He was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. She turned around, her blood pumping; she wanted to go hit someone.

"But I need to know, right now. If this is real for you, if you can handle this." Emma recoiled sharply from the woman, her earlier nervousness fading. "Killian would fight for you; he'd go to the end of the world for you because that's just how he loves someone. But right now, he can't. He has to fight for himself right now; he has to fight to survive. If you love him, truly love him, then  _you're_ the one who must fight, or you'll have to let him go."

Emma clenched her jaw.

"You're married to your soulmate, it's a hard thing to combat, harder to let go. He'd understand if you aren't ready, you have a son to think of after all."

She snapped.

"Who the hell are you telling me this?" She snapped. "I love him and if you're going to stand there and tell me that I don't or that I can't?" She demanded. "Hell yeah I'll fight. But not because you told me to, not because Killian can't, hell fires wouldn't stop him from fighting for me, but because I love him. I don't care if it's crazy, I don't care if my entire life is going to be thrown off balance, I love him and I'm going to be with him no matter what you or anyone says." Emma will admit half of that was directed to her husband who wasn't here, but Emma had had an emotional few months. But seriously, how dare she, she had no idea what was between them. Emma grabbed her purse, ready to storm out the door to the hospital to see him, to make sure Killian knew exactly where she stood.

Right next to him.

But then she remembered Henry. She took out her phone, hoping Mary Margret could watch Henry, or maybe David…

"I'll stay." Said a voice emerging from her bedroom, her eyes went wide in surprise. She thought he'd left, gone for a walk to blow out some steam. Then Emma realized that he must have heard. The heartbroken expression on his face definitely made it seem like he had. She had no intentions of ever hurting him, but knew that that was exactly what happened.

"I-" She tried. He shook his head.

"Go. I'll watch Henry." He said with a ghost of a smile. "We can…talk when you get back." He said sadly, almost resolved.

She nodded thankfully and grabbed her keys.

He didn't remember much. He remembered fighting, getting punched in the jaw.

He remembered the ship, something was wrong with the engine, by the time he realized how dangerous the malfunction was…he'd barely gotten most of the crew off before-

It hurt, everything hurt. He struggled to open his eyes.

The lights were blinding and he could barely make out the shape besides him.

"Easy. It's just me." Said the voice, he barely recalled. "Killian, can you hear me?"

His eyes narrowed as he tried to focus. She was blonde.

"Sw-an?" He said; voice horse and muffled. There was something on his face, he tried to move it, but he couldn't seem to get his body to cooperate, everything was like lead.

"Shh." Emma said softly, urging him to remain still. She moved the mask from his face.

"Hey beautiful." He teased. She smirked.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Better now that you're here." He replied. "Wh-at are you doing here?" He asked. "How-?" He took a long blink, he felt his energy fading.

"I'll tell you everything later ok?" He nodded, feeling her place the mask back over his face.

Emma watched him sleep a lot over the last few months, but she'd never been as vigilant as she was now. His skin was pale and his body was heavily bandaged. She usually moved to cup his left hand, rub his soulmark with her thumb but she didn't this time. She couldn't.

Killian's left hand was gone. It was damaged so badly in the blast that they'd had to take it off at hiswrisr.

She meant to tell him when he woke up, but she'd been so relieved that he woke up at all and he was barely there, only conscious long enough to compliment her. The idiot.

Milah returned moments after he'd dozed off. They'd sat in silence for most of the night, worried over Killian. But now that she'd heard him speak, Emma felt better about whether he'd be ok.

"Can you tell me what happen?" Emma asked, her hand gripping her chair slightly.

The woman nodded. "I was going to on one of my husband's yachts, something I like to do when the weather gets like this." She explained quickly, nervously. "Robert, my husband, always has the mechanic look over the ship, but this time he asked Killian."

Emma interrupted as a realization hit her. "Robert, as in Robert Gold, as in Killian's boss? Why is Killian friends with his boss's wife when he freaking hates-" She stopped, looking between the two, Milah who was shifting in her chair and Killian's prone form.

"You two were something." She realized. "Something serious."

She nodded. "It's been over for a long time." She said quietly, "But I will always love him and I will always want to protect him." She explained.

"Does your husband know?" She asked. Milah shook her head.

"We were together in a circumstance not unlike your own." Emma nodded in understanding, deciding to drop the conversation until Killian could tell her everything. Emma sensed the woman was hiding something, not quite a lie, but definitely not the whole truth. She'd let it go for now.

"Why did Killian look at the engine, I thought he worked in the office?" She asked.

"My husband likes the best of the best to look over out ships, and as much as he despises Killian, he knows Killian is the best. I was supposed to be there, but Bae, he has a cold and the sitter was late so I waited. I was a half hour late. But I-" She cut off.

She was supposed to be there, her and Killian. It sounded convenient to her.

"I got there just after the explosion." She admitted. "Smee, one of the sailors was in the water, he jumped in when he saw Killian get knocked overboard. We got him back to the docks just as the paramedics arrived."

Emma looked back at Killian, a nagging sensation at the story turning in her gut. As a bail bonds person, Emma often had to deal with mysterious clues to figure out how to find her perp.

"What did they say caused this?" she asked.

"I don't know." She said in annoyance. "And I don't care. All I care about is Killian recovering from this." She snapped. Emma nodded apologetically, dropping conversation all together.

According to the doctors, Killian would be sleeping through most of tomorrow due to the number of pain killers in his system. Emma took the time to return home as Milah promised to stay with him. They exchanged numbers, so they could keep each other informed on Killian's progress.

(Emma couldn't help but chuckle at how she'd imagine Killian's reaction. His two ex loves exchanging numbers like a pair of housewives.)

Emma returned home just as her husband was leaving with packed bags.

"It's for the best." He explained.

A wave of guilt hit her hard. "I know." She agreed.

"Tell Henry, tell him that this doesn't change anything between us alright? He's still- I still love him like a son." He specified. Emma nodded in agreement.

"He loves you and I loved you." She assured him. "I don't regret these last years. I hope you know that. I hope you-" He cut her off.

"I do, and I know. I hope you find happiness Emma, you deserve it."

And then he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma went to pick up Henry from school that day. She owed it to her son to tell him the truth, to explain it to him herself.

Henry expected it when she got there, arms crossed, mirroring her own stern stance and Emma had to admit, she was intimidated by her 10 year old.

He didn't seem to understand how it was possible, to be in love with someone who wasn't your soulmate, or more accurately to fall for them more than you ever fell for your other half.

"I-I…" Emma responded, unknowing what to say to her boy, her number one guy. "We've been joking about how maybe the Author upstairs made a mistake." She said eventually. "He put the wrong mark on the wrong person and forgot to fix it."

It seemed stupid even as she said it.

"Like a typo?" Henry asked.

Emma snickered, loving her son for always trying to make things better for everyone.

"Yeah kid, like a typo in the stars." She said ruffling his hair.

"Do you really love him?" Henry asked.

Emma nodded. "I do. But I don't want you to think this changes anything, he still wants you in his life, me being with Killian changes nothing." She assured him.

Henry nodded. "I know." He assured her. "Its been just the two of us against the world mom, for as long as I can remember. I thought when you'd met your soulmate, you would be happy, but…I just want you happy."

Emma wrapped an arm around her son. She loved him so much, she loved that she might not have ruined everything. One of her greatest fears about this whole mess was that Henry would hate her, that he would want to leave her.

But that wouldn't happen.

Maybe everything would be alright.

David showed up to pick Henry up, Mary Margret must have told him what was going on because the second he walked through the door, he gave Emma a sorry look and squeezed her shoulder affectionately.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you." He said as Henry got ready. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked. "Maybe talk to him? You're soulmates, he won't be mad at you forever."

Emma shook her head.

"It's for the best." She insisted.

"But Emma, he's your soulmate, soulmates don't just walk away from each other, it's meant to be." He insisted.

"Not this time." She insisted. "I fell in love with someone else, you can't just get over that." She reminded him.

"But Emma-" David tried.

"David, how do we know that this soulmate crap is right?" She asked. "You and I both know that there are cases where it didn't work out, what I feel for Killian…it's more than I ever felt for anyone in my entire life." She explained.

David didn't reply.

"If you meet Mary Margret and you didn't have the same marks, but still felt what you feel now, what would you do? Would you walk away from her?" She challenged.

"Never." He replied without hesitation.

"Then just trust me, I know what I'm doing." She replied. "If that means I can't be your friend, then-" David returned his comforting gesture.

"Emma, you're like a daughter to Mary Marget and I, we'll support your decisions no matter what." He insisted. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

She did too.

She practically raced back to Killian's side. She wanted him now that the obstacles I their way were gone; she wanted to be with him every step of the way.

Milah was still there when she got back, but Emma was planning to relieve her of her shift so she can take care of her sick son. However, Emma was glad that she was there, glad Killian could wake up with someone he knew rather than alone. The dark haired woman had her hair pulled to the side as she ran her fingers through it nervously; she was speaking softly to Killian, smoothing down the wild parts of his hair.

Emma stopped dead in her tracks.

Not because of how loving Milah's ministrations were, Emma had no right. She stopped because when Milah pulled back her hair, Emma saw it, right there on her skin, her soulmark.

Milah's soulmark was identical to Killian's


	7. Chapter 7

The next time Killian pulled himself from unconsciousness; it was Milah's face greeting him.

"Welcome back." She said simply.

He furrowed his brows. Milah wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to be anywhere near him.

"How...?" He asked.

She shook her head. "That's not important, not right now. Killian, there's something I need to tell you." She said softly. "I don't want to be the one to have to tell you, but-" She stopped.

Killian recognized the look of heartbreak in her eyes.

He moved his hand to her face, slowly, but he moved to cup her face, like he's done a thousand times.

Except this time he couldn't, this time, he looked at his arm and his hand wasn't there. He let out a gasp of pain. He didn't realize it hurt until-until-

"Shh. Relax." Milah insisted, pressing a button into his other hand, his only hand. She pressed it a few times, making the fire dancing along his wrist-was it still a wrist?—ease.

He had felt his side burning when the ship blew, but he hadn't realized-

"It's going to be ok Killian. I promise." He looked back at her, trying to distract himself, refusing to look towards it. Not yet, not ever.

"You didn't answer my question." He noted. Milah had always been so careful about being caught and so had he. Being here now would be noticed by Gold, it would ruin the balancing act they had over not making it obvious how not in love Milah and Gold were.

"Gold won't care that I'm here." She assured him, hand on his head, soothing his hair down just so. "Just like I don't care that he's off prancing around with his soulmate." She said with disgust. "She's the local librarian, a good 10 years younger than me."

He raised a brow. "So he found her?" Killian asked. "Is he finally letting you out of this marriage?" It had been all that Milah wanted for a long time, the monster had conned Milah into a marriage, and used their son to make her stay, even after they had found each other. Milah couldn't leave him. Milah had come from a broken family and refused to do that to her son.

"He's actually insisting on it." She said bitterly. "That was what the boat ride was for, I was hoping to find a way to convince you to come with me so we could talk." She admitted. "But it blew up in my face, literally and metaphorically."

He raised a brow. "I met Emma." She announced. "I  _really_  wanted to hate her."

Killian shifted nervously. "I wanted to think that she's needy, or possessive, or ugly. I wanted to believe that you were settling because we can't- we couldn't-" Her voice broke as she trailed off.

"We could never be each other's happy endings, even if we loved each other." He said for her. Killian never put much stock in happy endings because his own supposed guarantee was fated to fail. Even if they tried now, it had been too long, the hurt had run too deep. Even without speaking, Killian knew that he could never truly trust this future.

"You're soulmates?" Said a voice. Killian looked up, seeing Emma standing in the hall. He swallowed thickly. "You told me you never found your soulmate." She said sharply. Killian tried to sit up, feeling her tension, he wanted nothing more than to soothe her.

"Swan, there's an explanation for this." He responded. Milah stood up from where she was sitting.

"I'll give you two some privacy." She spoke softly and disappeared down the hall.

"Was I just a game to you? A way to make her  _jealous?"_ Emma snapped. "I knew it was odd, that your Ex came to tell me what happened, i just thought...I just thought it was a best friend thing." She rationalized.

"No, no." He insisted. "Please sit, please let me tell you." Killian begged. She didn't move to sit, and she still looked bloody pissed but she didn't move.

"I met Milah when I was young, after my brother's death. She was young and married, but we were drawn to each other, it wasn't long before she realized what we were." He explained. He didn't use the word, the word would set Emma off again."She tried to get her rich husband to let her out of the marriage, she was going to tell him, but then Milah realized she was with child." He remembered how scared she'd been, how desperate she was to give her child a happy childhood like he never had. "It was his and so she decided that her own happiness wasn't worth her child having a broken family." He explained. "Her husband could never find out that it was me, he'd ruin us both." He admitted.

"You could have told me that." Emma noted, finally sitting down, but there was still tension written in her face. She looked hurt and scared. "You could told me that your soulmate chose her family, it's not exactly uncommon." He nodded.

"In my defense, I was planning on telling you." He replies, taking her hand, hoping to keep her from running, hoping to make her stay and understand. "I didn't count on Gold's bloody boat exploding on me." He doesn't look in the direction of his hand. The hand he'd cover hers with. "What we have, it means something to me. I never thought…I never thought I was capable of letting go of my first love, of Milah, until I meet you." He insists.

"I'm sorry." She said, he looked up. She pulled her hand away. "I can't take the chance that I'm wrong about you." Killian felt his heart sink.

"But I love you." He insisted. "I love you." She was leaving. She was  _running._

"Swan!" He called. "Swan!" He moved to go after her, to hell with the machines, the bandages, he needed to explain everything to Swan, make her understand. He loves her, he would choose her, now and for forever.

Nurses came, he could see Milah there, trying to calm him. He fought weakly, pain becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. They eventually gave him something, he knows this by the warmth settling over his injuries.

"What happened Killian?" Milah said eventually, once everyone left.

"She left." He replied, closing his eyes. Losing Milah's love had broken him, but Emma...this was shattering him.

_And she'd not coming back._


	8. Chapter 8

Killian felt numb. It was days later, days since he'd seen Emma. She hadn't come back, not one since she left that day. He knew what it meant. She was done with him, she was still with her husband, with a man who was destined for her, a whole man.

He didn't know what to do with himself now. Here he was, unemployed, crippled and alone.

The doctors released him with strict instructions on care for the burns littering his body and the wound on the edge of his stump. He couldn't even drink in this state, he was on too many painkillers for that. He'd taken a taxi home as Milah was busy trying to figure out how best to deal with Gold and his legal troubles.

Apparently it was coming out that he'd sabotaged the engine, to try and kill his wife and her soulmate. Apparently Milah had given him a negative answer when the man asked to be let out of their marriage. She'd fumed at him for asking her for the very thing he denied her of, especially now when it was far too late for them to have their happy ending. Gold had taken it along with his hand and now Milah was all for getting her revenge for his foul deeds. Killian knew Milah and there was nothing the man could do to get her off his back now.

Killian couldn't help but laugh at the irony.

But it didn't leave Killian with much now did it? He decided to just take some of those bloody pills and collapse into his bed for the next few hours, to rest and do what the bloody doctors wished of him.

Suddenly he heard his door open, stirring him from his rest. He was barely coherent when he heard someone sitting on the bed next to him. He blinked away the sleep tying to clear his vision when he heard her voice.

"Shh." She said, hand settling on his cheek, soothing him. "I'm here, I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Her words came out in a flutter.

"Swan?" He realized. "What are you doing here?" he asked trying to get up.

"I was an idiot, but I came back. I'm not running anymore." She promised.

He shook his head, not believing this wasn't a drugged fantasy. The doctors had warned him that the pain medicine could make him a bit loopy.

"How did you get into me apartment?" He asked in a half slur even though there were a dozen other questions he wanted to ask. She smirked.

"I picked the lock. I knocked first, but you didn't answer." She admitted. "I was going to wait until you got back." She admitted. "Because there's something I need to tell you."

He struggled to sit up. "Swan-"

She interrupted. "I understand. I didn't at first, but I can't-" She swallowed. "I can't do this without you."

It felt like a dream. "Do what Swan?" He asked. "Last until you run away again?" He snapped. "You're not the only one who needs…needs something. Something solid to hold onto especially now."

Now without his hand, without anything. After building himself a life, he felt lost all over again. "How do I know you won't run? I can't chase you Emma, I can't spend my life chasing you."

She didn't back away from him due to his outrage. She just lifted her hand over his only remaining one, not looking away from him; not for a second. He couldn't help but be doubtful, she couldn't commit to him as a whole man, how was he going to win her like this?

"I'm in this for the long haul." She insisted. "He left. I told him our marriage was over and so I left." She continued. "It wasn't fair to him, or you."

He raised a brow. "I loved him, I loved him enough to let him go, because he deserves to find someone who will love him like he deserves."

Her voice broke. "Like I love you."

His jaw dropped ever so slightly. She never said those words before, he knew them, he knew how she felt, but he'd never heard them.

"I got scared when I saw Milah's mark, so scared that you wouldn't make the same choice. That now that her marriage was coming apart that you would choose her…" She trailed off.

"What changed your mind?" He asked.

"Someone…Neal, Neal told me something once. It stuck with me. I run away not because I'm afraid of something, but because…because I'm looking for my home, the place that when I leave I just miss." She explained.

"And what did you find out?" He prodded.

"That I've never missed someone or somewhere like I missed you." She insisted. "I'm done running away."

Killian believed her, he leaned forward, find her lips eagerly awaiting hers. It felt different than the others, not sinful forbidden moments in the darks of the night. It was a promise of the future. He wanted to never stop in case it was a dream.

But he broke the kiss with a yawn. He was exhausted. He shouldn't have taken the bloody pills.

"Sorry love." He sighed, dropping his forehead down to her shoulder. "Pills dulling my senses a bit." He admitted.

"Right, pills since you just got out of the hospital." She repeated, helping him lay back down. He moved instinctively hand finding the small of her back, right over her soulmark. He traced it lightly.

"Doesn't matter." He said with half lidded eyes.

"I know." She replied.

"Stay."

"Always."

And when he woke up, he found Emma fumbling in his kitchen and he knew that that was exactly what she did.


	9. Epilogue

Dear Emma,

I should be telling you this in person, but I'm not that strong. I know you've moved on, I know that you and him…I know that you and him are building something. I'm not angry Emma, I'm not. That isn't the point of this letter; the point of this letter is to thank you.

After our divorce, I moved away, it was too painful to be around the places we fell in love. But Emma, I met someone else. She works at a small town diner. She's a real spitfire, I think ou two would like each other, as weird as that sounds. They hired me as a Sherriff and I finally understand. I understand how you left our life together to pursue something…something of our own choosing.

I don't regret a moment of our marriage, and I was hoping I could write some letters to Henry, does he still write stories? I miss that kid.

I'm glad you found your happy ending Emma, and I'm glad I found mine, even if wasn't together.

Sending you all the happiness in the world,

Your ex-husband,

Graham Humbert.

She closed the letter with a smile, he'd attached a picture of him with his brown leather jacket with his arm around a brunette. Graham looked really happy. It made her feel less guilty knowing that he'd rebuilt himself after everything. She planned to send him a quick email giving him permission to contact Henry. He missed his former step father.

"Swan?" Killian called from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready." She smirked, putting the mail back down, returning to the kitchen to find her son setting the table.

"Killian made tacos." Her boy explained happily. She eyed him.

"You know I love tacos." She insisted. "Especially yours."

Killian smirked right back at her. "I make the best tacos." It sent them both into laughter. It had been 6 months since she'd stopped running for him and Emma couldn't be happier, he'd moved in with them as soon as Henry had met and gotten comfortable around him, which was pretty quickly.

"Graham sent a letter." She announced, it caught Killian's attention. She noticed his jaw clench slightly. She moved to ease him, kissing him right on that clenched jaw. "He met someone." She assured him. "He was wondering if you'd like to exchange messages Henry, now that he's settled down." Her kid lite up happily at that, as she expected.

"Milah called." Killian announced.

"Oh? And where is she at this month?" Emma asked. She used to feel jealous that Milah called Killian at all, but the woman had been responsible for putting the man that took Killian's hand in prison so Emma couldn't be too mad.

"Thailand." He announced. "She and Bae are getting to see the world." She smiled, it was Milah's dream, her happy ending.

Emma moved over to Killian's shoulder, over one of the scars left behind by the explosion. It was a glossy crescent, the same as her soul mark, completely identical apart from the color, his without the pigmentation of a soul mark, but Henry and Killian believed it was the world's autocorrect.

Emma just thought those two were liking their analogy way too much.

Regardless, she was just glad she found her happy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @LassLuna


End file.
